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Feature i www.thefis.org 9 is no longer freedom of movement of people. Existing EU workers who lived in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 will need to apply for right to work through the Settlement Scheme. Those arriving after 1 January 2021 will need to apply for a visa and secure 70 points based on an employment offer, skill level of the role and whether they speak English and the occupational area is deemed in to be in shortage. This is particularly onerous for construction where employment is not the norm, no construction occupations are currently deemed to be in shortage and many trades are not considered sufficiently skilled to qualify for the skilled worker list. What does it all mean? We haven’t seen a flood of new investment off the back of greater certainty, but against the backdrop of COVID, this is not surprising. The impact on currency has been slight, the pound has strengthened modestly against the Euro, but any gain for importers is set against the impact of additional bureaucracy and the potential for some tariffs that ultimately translates into cost and inflationary pressure on products and materials. While we haven’t seen any significant supply issues (steel and timber concerns are not really Brexit-related), intermittent delays still aren’t out of the question – a missing docket could delay a shipment. Labour shortages too could impact labour rates. The full implication of transition has yet to be understood, but there are some inflationary pressures and it is important that all companies look to isolate their risk and ensure that their contracts do not leave them carrying more than their fair share of the risk. Manufacture in Great Britain Manufacture in Northern Ireland Manufacture in EU Place in GB Place in NI Place in EU Manufacture in Great Britain Manufacture in Northern Ireland Manufacture in EU Place in GB Place in NI Place in EU & & & & & & & & Product marking requirements from January 2021-December 2021 Product marking requirements from January 2022 FIND OUTMORE FIS has a Brexit Toolkit available at www.thefis.org/knowledge-hub/ business-management/risk-register

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